Iditarod 2013

Iditarod 2013

The ceremonial start is tomorrow, Saturday, March 2. The Last Great Race starts on Sunday, March 3 from Willow, AK. Alaskans in Anchorage will get a good look at the mushers and their dog teams as they head down 4th Avenue. The dogs are anxious to get out on the trail and run, run, run. It's an amazing race.........1,049 miles to Nome, roughly the distance from Boston to Miami.........but in the cold, dark, snow, mountains, frozen tundra. I've been to 8 ceremonial starts. It's so exciting to see the dogs, howling, jumping, getting their leads crossed over and over until they take off. Then they have tongues a'waggin', tails a'waggin' and smiles on their faces! Who will be the first team to make it to Nome this year???

I got lleechef an Ohio State hoodie. I got her a Steelers hoodie. What is it that she won't take off? The Iditarod jacket I gave her. When reading about, talking about or even thinking about the Iditarod she has a smile on her face that would make any husky envious. She's even talking about putting together a team of cats so she can enter the race herself.

i used to love to go to the fur festival and see the unofficial start of the iditarod. that was back in the 80's when i lived up there. used to go on break at that time to party at the fur rodevous (sp?) festival in downtown Anchorage.

Fur Rondy (Rendevous) is a lot of fun too. They shoot off fireworks every night since we can't do fireworks around the 4th of July (it's too light!). It's kind of a week-long winter carnival, Alaskan style. It was at Fur Rondy that I tasted muktuk.......whale blubber with the skin attached. Bleeeeech. I had to spit it out. And of course we all wear crazy furs.......no PETA people allowed........I had a beautiful coyote hat with the tail streaming down the back. I fell in love with Iditarod because it's such a grueling, tough, amazing sport. Takes a lot of guts to go 1049 miles in the winter on a dog sled!! kennyb,Did you work the Slope in the 80's?

Fur Rondy (Rendevous) is a lot of fun too. They shoot off fireworks every night since we can't do fireworks around the 4th of July (it's too light!). It's kind of a week-long winter carnival, Alaskan style. It was at Fur Rondy that I tasted muktuk.......whale blubber with the skin attached. Bleeeeech. I had to spit it out. And of course we all wear crazy furs.......no PETA people allowed........I had a beautiful coyote hat with the tail streaming down the back. I fell in love with Iditarod because it's such a grueling, tough, amazing sport. Takes a lot of guts to go 1049 miles in the winter on a dog sled!! kennyb,Did you work the Slope in the 80's?

yes i did. loved it very much. we were over by the village of wainright one year and they brought over a large piece of muktuk for on of the guys that used to work there. he let everyone have a small piece . not very good at all. they used to have a race track thru the streets for fur rondy and race cars on the ice. not sure if they still do that or not.

Martin Buser has everyone surprised. He arrived in Rohn at record-breaking time then decided to do his mandatory 24-hour stop there. All the teams are required to do this but they usually do their 24 farther down the trail. This is an unprecedented Iditarod move that might bite him in the butt or win the race for him. Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/03/04/2812129/fast-and-furious-first-day-for.html

Buser is now #9 in the race and the only one out of 50 mushers (there are 64 total) that has done the mandatory 24-hour layover. He is keeping his team at about 7.5 MPH. Lance Mackey (another 4-time Iditarod champion) is in the first position. They all also have to do an 8-hour mandatory layover. Of course they stop along the trail to lay out beds for the dogs and feed them and let them rest and sleep.

Buser is three hours ahead of Aily Zirkle. They have both checked out of Eagle Island. So far, it looks like Buser's early 24-hour layover could win him the race. But anything can happen. One year Deedee Jonrowe was in the lead to Nome when her dogs just laid down and said, "That's it. We're done." Anything can happen.

About 8 days. So the first musher should be in Nome tomorrow. When the race first started in 1973 it took 16-18 days. Now they have faster dogs, lighter sleds, etc. It's hard to imagine that it all started with the Serum Run that was a relay from Anchorage into Nome.